Freshman QB thrown into spotlight

Alabama's sideline

Posted: Sunday, October 05, 2003

By Chris J. StarrsCorrespondent

Alabama freshman quarterback Brandon Avalos found himself in an unusual position on two occasions Saturday.

First and foremost, he was thrown into the fire at Sanford Stadium in the third quarter of No. 11 Georgia's 37-23 victory when teammates Spencer Pennington and Brodie Croyle both left the game after sustaining massive hits from Georgia defenders.

Shortly thereafter, Avalos found himself surrounded by the media in the post-game locker room, fielding questions about a reeling Crimson Tide team that has lost three consecutive games and seems to be sinking a little deeper as each Saturday passes.

"All I was thinking was to calm down, stay relaxed and don't get too anxious," said Avalos, who completed 2-of-8 passes for 6 yards and rushed four times for 9 yards in what was basically a mop-up role. "I might not have as many reps as the other guys, but I know the offense and I executed it as well as I possibly could."

With Pennington and Croyle both possibly on the shelf, Avalos could find himself thrust into a situation he probably wasn't expecting so soon in his collegiate career. But with the kind of luck Alabama has thus far experienced in 2003, "expect the unexpected" may well be the Tide's team slogan.

Alabama resembled the worst sandlot team imaginable in the first half Saturday, allowing Georgia a history-making 37 points and not posting a first down until 6:30 in the second quarter; but the Crimson Tide made the outcome at least appear respectable with a spirited second-half performance that saw the defense shut the Bulldogs' offense down while scoring twice on Bulldog miscues.

"It is a difficult game when you play like we did in the first half," said Alabama coach Mike Shula. "Turnovers, offensive and defensive plays dug us in a hole."

Shula will no doubt get an earful from the Tide faithful as the team - now 2-4 overall and 1-2 in the SEC - prepares to face Southern Miss next Saturday. He'll hear plenty from those who questioned why he opted to insert the gimpy Croyle, the team's starter through its first five games, into Saturday's game when his team was down 30-0.

Croyle entered the game with 6:49 remaining in the first half and lasted all of two plays before a massive hit by Georgia linebacker Odell Turman sent the sophomore back to the sidelines with a re-injured left (non-throwing) shoulder.

"It was a great lick," said Turman in what might have been the understatement of the day. "I felt the air come out of (Croyle); he was gasping."

"We decided to start Spencer Pennington because he got most of the reps in practice this week," said Shula. "Brodie Croyle got hurt on the first or second throw. We were down at that point, but look at how the game turned out; we had a chance to come back in the fourth quarter, although it didn't work out that way.

"(Croyle) said, 'Coach, I'm ready to go.' If we had felt he couldn't go, he wouldn't have been in there at all. We couldn't make a first down and were trying to get something going. We had talked about bringing him in a series sooner. He just got hit (on his shoulder) one more time."

Ironically, Pennington left the game with 6:49 remaining in the third quarter after being on the receiving end of a nasty shot by Bulldog linebacker Thomas Davis.

It may have been a stirring Knute Rockne-like speech at halftime and it may have been Georgia losing its focus after running up and down the field in the first two quarters, but the Crimson Tide came out after intermission and held the Bulldog offense at bay, although Alabama's offense continued its self-destructive ways.

"I don't think anyone expected the game to be the way it was at the half," said free safety Charles Jones, who collected two interceptions, including a 30-yard touchdown return of a David Greene pass late in the third quarter.

"The coaches said the second half would tell us what we were made of and we took that to heart. We could have laid down or played hard, and we played

hard in the second half. The effort is there, but things are not going our way."

Alabama's other score in the second half came early in the fourth quarter when Georgia punter Gordon Ely-Kelso couldn't handle a snap and freshman linebacker Juwan Garth picked up the ball at the Bulldog 10-yard line, romping into the end zone and giving the Crimson Tide a flicker of hope with 14 minutes left in the game.

But Georgia managed to get its act together long enough to run a 14-play drive that while not productive point-wise, did eat five minutes off the fourth-quarter clock. And with that, the Crimson Tide was left to consider "what if" and "what's next."

"We can only go uphill," said sophomore strong safety Roman Harper. "We're about as low as we can get. We're on a three-game losing streak and we're pretty beat up. But we've got to continue to try to get better."